From Something To Everything (Bounprem)

128. Trap

"Lung Saen!" Ohm looked at his cousin who was smiling at him. "It has to be Lung Saen! He was the one who convinced Khun Yay to allow Boun to attend that private school. He was also the one who suggested that particular school. Pa Tessa was just following along with him!"

Singto smiled and ruffled Ohm's soft hair. "You are really the hope of the Ritprasert family. Khun Pu was indeed right when he said that you are brilliant." He beamed with pride.

Ohm became shy at his cousin's praises. But somewhere in him, he knew that he didn't do anything that was actually worth the praise.

"But the question is, why? Why would P' Saen do that? Boun is his own child. Even a lion wouldn't eat its own cub." Simon spoke out his confusion.

"P' Saen did it because he is cold-blooded and vicious to the core. He has no value for relationships and commitment unless it is equated with money and wealth." A fourth voice sounded at the door.

The three people spun to look at the person who entered the room. They waied respectfully at the newcomer.

Seth settled down next to his son. "P' Saen doesn't consider Boun as his son. He strongly believes that Boun is Tessa's illegitimate child."

"WHAT?" the three people shouted in unison.

"Ann never told me the details but I do remember P' Saen and Tessa having conflicts around the time Boun was born." Seth sighed audibly. Sometimes he felt bad for Tessa for having married someone like Saen. But there was nothing he could do. The woman seemed to the trapped completely in the vicious web of love with no escape.

"How can it be? P' Tessa is one of the most loyal women I know." Simon defended Tessa. Tessa was a strong-hearted woman and was looked up to by Simon from a young age. He respected her as much as he respected his own sister-in-law, Ann.

"She is. But P' Saen seemed to believe otherwise. Given the number of women he has outside the family, it is only natural that he thinks that his wife is just like him." Seth snickered in disgust.

"Does that mean that Lung Saen is trying to get rid of Boun to get his hands on the Guntachai family's properties?" Ohm directed his question at his father.

"Not just the Guntachai family, Ohm, Dechaphatthanakun family too," Seth answered.

"What do you mean, Dad? Isn't P' Kao the heir of the Dechaphatthanakun family? As far as I know, Boun and I have little to no power in controlling the empire [1]" Ohm was confused.

"Yes, Kao is the heir. But there is more to it." Seth said gaining the attention and focus of the other three people in the room. "Years ago, before Phor [2] passed away, he created a will to distribute the Dechaphatthanakun family's wealth after his death.

Phor was well aware of his children's characteristics. He knew that P' Eric [3] was too soft-hearted and Ann was busy with my family. The only person among his three children who had the calibre and ambition to take over his position as the chairman of the Dechaphatthanakun empire was P' Saen.

But Phor also knew how ruthless and cunning P' Saen was. He was sure that if the properties were to end up in P' Saen's hands, then he would definitely hurt Ann and P' Eric. Hence, he asked his lawyer to prepare a will with his conditions.

He made Kao his successor with all his three children having equal division of property. But the will also stated that none of them had the power to sell or use the property as their own and were only in charge of safeguarding it for their children."

"Safeguarding?" Simon tilted his head and looked at his elder brother.

Seth hummed. "Their shares will actually be inherited by their children and not them. None of them legally had the authority to make actual decisions over the property like share transfer or anything."

"You mean to say that..." Singto was still a little lost.

"That means shares that P' Eric is holding would be inherited by Kao directly. Similarly, P' Saen's share would be Boun's and Ann's share would be Ohm's. All united under Kao as the chairman." Seth finished his nephew's sentence.

"But how would getting rid of Boun help him get the property?" Singto asked. "The share is already in his hands. If he is so cunning then won't he be able to figure out a way to find loopholes in the will."

"It is not just about his share, Singto. It is the Dechaphatthanakun Empire as a whole. He wants it completely for himself.

Phor knew of his ambition and made another part of the will that said that if anything were to ever happen to Kao, then all his powers would rest with Boun. Boun will be the next chairman if Kao were to disappear one day."

"Why is it Boun? Why not P' Alan? Isn't he the second heir of the family?" Ohm asked.

"Maybe that is what pissed P' Saen off. I am sure that he wanted Alan to get the inheritance. But Phor made Alan just a nominal heir. Imagine how much Alan must be hating Boun just because of this matter. Both his Khun Pus felt that Boun was a better choice and chose Boun over him. it is a miracle that Boun was able to survive till date." Seth sighed out loud.

"But, how come none of us have heard of the last part of the will, Phi?" Simon felt restless from the new information.

"This part was not announced, Sim. Even Mae [3] doesn't have any idea about this. Only the part till Kao's inheritance was announced. The rest of it was kept secret for safety purposes. I am sure that P' Saen used his resources to get this information."

Seth's words caused the people in the room to breathe in cold air. Things turned out to be more complicated than they had imagined. If Saen was able to get the confidential information hidden away by the Dechaphatthanakun family, then his powers couldn't be underestimated.

The stakes were too big in this game. The combined power of the Dechaphatthanakun family and the Guntachai family would be so alluring and it made complete sense that it arose the greed in Saen's heart. A person like Saen would never sit back down without laying his hands on it just like that.

"This whole thing was an elaborate plan to make sure that Boun never gets to know of the will and the power of attorney would remain in P' Saen's hand. He had carefully plotted everything. The only variable in the whole plan was Colt. I am sure that it wasn't easy for P' Saen to lure him into being part of this plan."

[1] The empire- used to refer to the Dechaphatthanakun conglomerate as a whole.

[2] Phor- Seth refers to his father-in-law as Phor, Ann's father.

[3] Mae - Seth refers to his mother-in-law as Mae, Ann's mother